The Right Decision
by THE TATTOO ARTIST
Summary: What would've happened in the lives of the gang If Taiga had accepted Kitamura's confession.
1. Chapter 1

**This was just an idea that came to me when I watched Toradora again on YouTube.**

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><p>It was the start of another school year and it was happening again. Everyone was trying their best to stay away from me. I looked around me and tried to pull my hair down to cover my eyes. "Crap, not again." "Yo! We're back in the same class this year, Takasu." I turned to see my best friend. "Kitamura." I smiled, knowing that there was at least one person in this school that didn't treat me like the others did. "With that, we conclude our opening ceremony for this year. Please return to your classes for homeroom." The P.A. announcer said. The opening ceremony ended just as fast as it began and we were off to our classrooms.<p>

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><p>"A new class...Do I have to start by clearing up the misunderstanding first?" I said to Kitamura as we walked through the hallway. "No problem." Kitamura said. "Huh?" "Since I understand you, it won't be everyone." I smiled. "Ah, thanks." That's right; there are people who understand me. Moreover in this class. "Yo, Kitamura-kun!" I turned around and smiled. I'd know that voice anywhere. "We're in the same class again, eh?" "Oh Kushieda, you're in class C as well?" Kushieda Minori, my other friend, or as I'd like to call her my first ex-girlfriend. Many people would say that it's weird to still be friends with your ex, but who cares; I'm not one of those people. "Hey Minori-san, how are you this morning." She giggled. "You always worry about me don't you?" I shrugged my shoulders. "What's wrong with me being a caring person?" Minori smiled and shook her head. "You were always the weird type Ryuu-chan. Anyway, let's enjoy our lively and heartfelt youth together!" Minori exclaimed as she ran into the classroom while laughing spiritedly. Kitamura leaned close to whisper in my ear. "Something tells me that you and Kushieda are getting back together." I looked at Kitamura with a dead-serious expression painted on my face; it made the students behind him recoil in terror but Kitamura just stood there and smiled like an idiot. "No we are not." I was beginning to think that Haruta and Noto were spreading rumors again. I let out a deep sigh. "I think I need some water, I'll be right back." I walked to the vending machines. On my way there I met her, Aisaka Taiga, or should I say, Yuusaku Kitamura's girlfriend. I would have never believed it if Kitamura told me that this beautiful girl was his girlfriend, oh by the way, no one else in this school beside me and Minori knows that Kitamura and Taiga are dating. "Hey, Ryuuji." I smiled. "Yo, Aisaka-san." I met Aisaka Taiga last year when Kitamura introduced me to her at the mall, things got a little uncomfortable for the four of us because I was on a date with Kushieda. That, for me was the most awkward moment in my whole life, because I found out that Kushieda and Taiga were best friends. In the end we all got along and became good friends. "Are you in class C as well?" She asked me. "Yeah, I am." She sneezed. "Oh I see you caught that bug that's been going around." I said as she took out a tissue paper to wipe her nose. "Yeah, I have a runny nose and I keep sneezing." I crossed my arms. "You should put on something warmer when you come in tomorrow." She threw the tissue in the trashcan. "Geez, you worry too much. You housewife." I shook my head and smiled. "I know it's not my place to say this but, I have to worry, you're like the sister I never had." She elbowed me in the gut which caused me to hold my stomach in pain; I keep forgetting how violent Taiga gets sometimes. "OUCH! What was that for!?" She kept on walking and said. "That's for saying something really stupid, ugly mutt." I shook my head; I could never really understand her. Her short violent outbursts, in which I was always on the receiving end, made me think 'What does Kitamura see in her?'<p>

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><p>"Okay, we'll stop here for today." Our teacher said as she put our papers together. "Students who have not yet handed in their future careers form, please come to the staff room later." I was looking out the window, barely even trying to listen. "D…did you hear me Takasu-kun?" I turned around quickly. "Yes." I forgot that even the teachers were afraid of me. I turned around and saw Minori handing Taiga a tissue. "Are you ok, Taiga?" She asked. "You came in pretty late too…" "I caught a cold a few days ago." She said as she blew into the tissue. "Oh, that bug going around, that's terrible." I was putting my schoolbooks away when I overheard Haruta and Noto talking to Maya Kihara and Nanako Kashii, for some reason I was the topic of their conversation. And like last year Noto was trying to explain to the girls that just because I looked like a delinquent, it didn't mean that I was one. Yeah, there were some guys who didn't care about how I looked.<p>

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><p>"Ta…takasu-kun…do you know what to do in your future?" "Eh?" "B…b…but…everyone else has already handed in their forms." "Ah, sorry, I guess I forgot." I brought up my hand to rub the back my head, when Sensei recoiled in terror. "Sorry, Sorry!" She yelped. "You're uncertain about the future, so you don't want anyone to say too much about it. Right, right?" I let out a deep sigh while she kept on rambling about being sorry.<br>I shook my head as I left the staff room. I couldn't understand why people say smart things like, 'Don't judge a book by its cover' when they don't even apply it. When I passed the gates of the school. "Yo Takasu!" I turned around and saw Haruta and Noto. "Hey guys, it's almost 4:30, what are you still doing here?" They looked at each other and smiled. "We're here for you." I rolled my eyes. Whenever I heard these two say something like that it meant that they wanted me as their bodyguard. "What is it this time? You're meeting a couple of girls at the mall again?" They both dropped their shoulders. "Taka-chan you're terrible." They both said unison. "We just wanted you to come with us to Jonny's restaurant." I raised an eyebrow. "For what?" "We want you to come and meet a couple of girls." Haruta said. A sweat drop rolled on the back of my head. I knew it. "Even If I did come I'd just be scaring them off like last time, remember?" Noto put his hands on my shoulder and handed me a pair of sunglasses. "What's this for?" I said as I took the glasses from him. "It quite simple." Haruta began. "You put on these shades and when the girls ask you why, just tell them about your father, but not everything you know of course." I let out a deep sigh. Why did I ever tell these two about that bastard. "Come on it'll be a great opening story, the girls will feel sorry about the way you look and won't be bothered by your eyes." I almost forgot how smart and cunning these were when it came to girls. "And you know what I heard? Kushieda-san works at Jonny's." Noto added. Oh geez drag her into this why don't you. "So what'll it be Taka-chan?" Haruta said as he put his hands on my shoulders from behind. "Fine." It's not that I was desperate to get back on the horse (dating); it's just that I didn't have anything better to do. "Alright!" They yelled.  
>Half an hour later, Noto and Haruta's plan was actually working; the girls they brought in didn't run away. Apparently they were from Tokyo, and were visiting their relatives here. How Noto and Haruta knew them both was beyond me. Their names were Kaori Atsuko and Ayame Kiyoshi, for some reason their names sounded very familiar. Kaori had black, shoulder length hair which was held back by a black headband. She was wearing an orange tank top and had on a pair of blue tight-fitting jeans and a pair of open toed sandals and she had a small shoulder strap purse. Ayame had long blue hair, her bangs were held up to the left by a two pink clips and she was almost wearing the same outfit that Kaori had on, except that her top was black and that she was wearing a pair of pink tennis shoes and she also had a similar shoulder strap purse.<br>Unfortunately for Noto and Haruta, they were completely forgotten about because both girls were way more interested in my story to even care about the two boys next to me, sorry guys I guess I'm just lucky. "Is it difficult for you to live the way do?" Kaori asked. "Yeah it is, I barely have any friends at school, and everyone else just treats me like a…" I couldn't say it. "A delinquent?" Ayame continued. I just nodded my head. "I couldn't have said it better." "It must be hard for you to just be brushed off like that huh?" I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm used to it I guess, this actually started when I was in kindergarten." We, the girls and I, kept on talking until it was getting late, sometime ago Noto and Haruta had left, I didn't even notice. I didn't matter to me in the slightest, if anything, this was probably the greatest moment of my life. "Well, I'd like to stay longer but I have to go." Kaori said. "Sorry Ayame, but you know how strict my dad is when it comes to my curfew. See ya." "I'll see tomorrow Kaori-san." Ayame waved to her friend. "Are you sure you want to be here with me? You should go home." Ayame just smiled. "No it's okay; I live pretty close by anyway, and my mom never worries about me." I raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?" "My mom considers me a mature young lady who can take care of herself." Her mom kinda sounded like mine, I leaned back into my seat. "What about your dad?" Ayame also leaned back and crossed her arms. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay." At first I thought that she didn't want to say anything, but then. "He's a bastard and a loser." I was taken aback by her tone of voice, a minute ago she had the voice of an angel, and now she had pure malice spilling from her throat. "Uh…w...why would you say that?" I was of the guy who was concerned about kids who had bad relationships with their fathers; basically it was because I grew up without a father figure in my life. "I don't even know his name; he just left my mom when he found out that she was pregnant with me. I doesn't matter you wouldn't know how I feel." She said as she stared out the window. "Actually I do." She turned to face me. I then told her more about my father. I basically explained everything to her, I told her about how he just left us and got himself killed, I just told her things that I didn't bring up a while back when Kaori was here. Ayame looked at me blankly. "I…I'm sorry, I didn't know that." "It's okay I didn't know about your dad as well, so I guess that means were even."  
>We kept talking until it was 6:00. I never would've have thought that there was another person out there who shared something in common with me. We each didn't know who our fathers were, our moms were almost never home because their work, and that she was mistreated at school because of what her father. "I really had a great time with you Takasu-kun." Ayame said as we both stepped out the door. "I could say the same for you, I just started the school year and things are already looking bright for me." Ayame held the strap across her chest. "Um…uh…T…t…takasu-kun?" "Huh?" "Um…t…this may seem l…like a s…strange request but, do you think I could ask you for your phone number?" What? Did I just hear that correctly? I had just met this girl earlier in the afternoon and she's already asking me for my phone number! Eherm, n…not that I was interested in dating her of course. "Uh…s…sure." I said nervously as I took my phone out of my pocket. When she saw my number on her phone she smiled and looked at me. "We should meet up again sometime, don't you think?" I shrugged my shoulders. "S…sure why not, h…how about this weekend?" She put hands behind her back and nodded her head. "I'll be l…looking f…forward to it."<p>

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><p>It was 7:00 when I got home and I was greeted by an empty house. "Yasuko must be working." I changed out of my casual clothes and put on a pair of pink shorts and a green t-shirt. It was now late into the night and I was still studying; I opened the drawer of my desk to get a pen. There was a picture in the drawer; it was a picture of Yasuko and my father. I looked at the man in the photo with disgust. I could still remember the stupid things Yasuko would say about him. Even though she really loved him, I hated him more than anything.<p>

(((FLASHBACK)))  
>'As for dad, he's in heaven!<br>He was a really cool person!  
>He always hid magazines under his suit to prevent himself from being stabbed! How charming!'<br>(((FLASHBACK END)))

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><p>"Just looking like you…Gives me a lot of trouble!" I turned to look at my reflection in the window beside me. 'If it wasn't for this face…no one would be scared. I should have more confidence, that way…' I then remembered something. "Ah, the future careers form." I sat on the floor and started rummaging through my school bag for the sheet of paper. "Come on where is it." I pulled out a sheet of paper that was folded in half. "Ah ha, here it is." I was just about to unfold the sheet when my phone rang. "Huh? Who could be calling me at this hour?" I flipped my phone open without even bothering to read the name.<br>"Hello?" "Good evening Takasu-kun." My eyes widened at the sound of her voice. "Kiyoshi-san?" She giggled on the other end. "Hey Takasu-kun how are you tonight?" That was a strange question. "Uh I'm fine, what are you doing calling me at this hour, you should be asleep." "I wanted to hear your voice before I turned in for the night." I blushed at that comment. "Y…y…you s…shouldn't tease people like that, especially since we just met." I heard her laugh on the other end. "Sorry, I guess it's just that I've hardly had any 'guy' friends before." She never told me that. "Really? So does that mean I'm special to you?" She giggled again. "I thought you said no teasing." "He he, touché." I then caught myself; I was talking to a girl like it was a normal thing. I guess it was because I already experienced all this before with Minori. I still remember our late night chats; I would always have my phone with me in case Minori would call me up. "Hello? Takasu-kun? Are you still there?" Oh man, I was thinking about Minori for a while, I completely forgot about the girl on the other end of the line. "S…sorry, I was just thinking about something. Anyway, really why did you call me?" I heard her flop down on her bed. "I couldn't sleep." She then let out a deep sigh. "What wrong, you sound troubled." She really sounded distressed. "I hate it when things happen unexpectedly." I raised my eyebrows. "What things?" She sniffled, was she crying? "My mom told me that we have to back to Tokyo on Saturday." When I heard that it came like a big shock, for me it hurt as much as when Minori and I broke up. I make a great friend, and then learn that she has to leave. "She said that some important matters came up and that we had to leave this weekend." "And after I made that promise." "Well, we can still meet up on Friday, if you're not too busy that is." "Well, I already made a promise so I'd better stay true to my word." "Thank you, Takasu-kun you really are a true friend and I'll be waiting for you." With that said, she hung up. I closed my phone and looked at the clock. 'I'd better go to bed.'

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><p>The next day, I was in the kitchen putting together some breakfast for me and Yasuko as well as my lunch for school. I had just put my bento box away for later when my phone rang. I picked it and answered the call. "Hello, this is Takasu Ryuuji." "Hey good morning, Baka-Inu." "Aisaka-san?" "Hey I need you to do something for me." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Oh geez, how many times do I have to tell you, I am not going to use my looks to get you into a 5-star restaurant with Kitamura." I really hated it when Taiga would use me as meal ticket. "No it's not that, I need you to..." "What do you mean, hurry up and come over? To the veranda…" I opened the sliding door to veranda and that's when I saw her. "What the!?" Taiga was in the apartment next door and I she saw looking at me through the window. "Hey Baka-Inu." I stared at her blankly. I shook my head. "Wait…when did you move here?" I asked as I put my phone away. "It was three weeks ago actually, anyway before you start another pointless conversation I need a favor from you." I crossed my arms. "What do you want now?" She didn't say anything, her stomach just growled. "You really need to learn how to cook one of these days." "Whatever, just come over."<br>I laid my head on my desk. "I am never going in that woman's house again." I said to myself. I was near exhaustion after cleaning up Taiga's apartment, trash everywhere, the sink was clogged with…I don't even want to go back there, and her dirty clothes were scattered everywhere. If ever have to give her another lesson on how to clean her appartment again, I might just call myself her caretaker because of all the things I've done for that girl. "Hey Takasu are you alright?" It was Minori. I tried to sit up straight. "Yeah I'm fine; I just found out today that Taiga's my neighbor." Minori nodded her head. "Oh that's right; Taiga lives in that apartment next door to house. But that doesn't explain why you look so tired." I then told her what happened earlier. "Hhhmmm…That's my fault I guess, I never did visit her apartment when she moved in." Things weren't looking good for me today.

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><p><strong>If you want me to continue this story, just say so…<strong>

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><p><strong>This is THE TATTOO ARTIST signing out…<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

"Seconds!" Ordered Taiga. "Got it!" I said as I took the bowl from Taiga. I was about to fill the bowl when. "Eh! It's not supposed to be like this." "Huh?" Taiga looked at me blankly. "Why did you end up eating breakfast at our house?" I turned to face my mom. "Also, why did you accept this so easily?" Yasuko put down the cup she was drinking from. "No reason. Since Taiga-chan is small, she doesn't take up much space. Furthermore, it's more delicious when we all eat together." She took another sip of her tea. "Plus, I get to spend more time with the future Mrs. Yuusaku." I can't believe she said that a straight face. "Hurry up and hand it over." What the…she completely ignored what Yasuko just said! I couldn't believe her, how could she be thinking of food after Yasuko's last comment?! I opened the pot, it was empty. "Wha?! I've already cooked three pots… how much more are you going to eat?!" I exclaimed. I looked at Inko-chan's cage. "S…sowwiie…" A feather fell from his head.

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><p>"Good grief, are you trying to make your pet braver by stressing it? Stop making it uglier." "Don't say ugly!" Even though Taiga was a good friend, I still couldn't understand why she behaved this way. "But it's true that, 'a pet takes after its master.' " "Why you…This ungrateful girl! Treating me like this even though I made your breakfast, lunch, and even dinner!" "You sure are annoying, you half breed." "Half…again, you! Give me back my lunch! Give me back my good will!" I yelled as I stretched out my arm. "Shut up and rot, Baka-Inu." I stood there feeling like an idiot after what I just said. "W…wait up, Taiga." Ever since I found out that she was my neighbor, Aisaka Taiga has been appearing in front of my dining table a lot more. "I told you to wait! Geez I thought I taught you better manners." Taiga stopped. "Ryuuji." I looked at her. "I want to do something nice for Kitamura today." "What?" She turned around to face me. "Kitamura is always doing something nice for me; I just want to return the favor." I put my hand to my chin. I was already thinking of what Taiga could do. "Minorin!" I heard Taiga shout. I looked up and saw Minori up ahead of us. "You're slow, Taiga! Great! You have plenty of spirit too!" Taiga ran up to Minori and cuddled herself into her. "Good morning, Minori!" I looked at them and smiled. It made remember the good times I shared with Minori. "Good morning Takasu-kun." I waved at her. "Hey, good morning Kushieda." Minori looked at Taiga. "So you called me last night and told me that you wanted to do something nice for Kitamura-kun. What are you gonna do?" Taiga lowered her head and started twiddling her fingers. "Um…uh…I still don't know. Maybe I could…" "He loves cookies." I interrupted. "What?" Taiga called out. "Kitamura really loves cookies." Minori put her hands together. "Taiga! You're in luck; I heard that our Home economics class will be making cookies today." "Really?" At first she showed a lot of enthusiasm. "B…but I hardly know how to cook." "Don't worry we'll help you out. Right Takasu-kun?" I nodded my head. "Hey Takasu-kun, you won't mind if we go on ahead right?" Minori said. "No it's okay; I have to get to the convenience store anyway." The route from the store to the school was much longer than the path Minori and Taiga took, but I needed to get something for Taiga to surprise Kitamura with. As well as make preparations to meet with Ayame this afternoon. I couldn't believe that today was Friday. Ayame was leaving tomorrow.<p>

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><p>"Alright! Warm-ups complete!" Kuroma-sensei said as we finished our P.E. exercise warm-ups. "Next we'll practice passing in pairs. Okay I want each of the girls to pair up with a boy." I walked over to Minori. "Hey Kushieda. Partner?" I said as I held out my arm. When she smiled and put her hand in mine I could definitely hear a collection of gasps from the girls. I could even hear their faint whispers, some of them going, 'Is Kushieda-senpei dating Takasu-kun again?' 'I thought those two broke up?' 'Looks like they're back together though.' Man, this school is complete hot-spot of misunderstandings. I looked around and most of the students had already paired up with someone, except for Haruta, poor guy, he had to practice passing with Kuroma-sensei, I felt really sorry for him sometimes. Taiga on the other hand was really enjoying herself; she and Kitamura looked just like a couple you would see on those teen romance dramas. However I noticed that a female Student, Kihara Maya, kept sneaking glances toward Kitamura's direction, it almost looked like she was jealous. Poor Noto, his partner was barely paying attention to him, to the point where… "Kihara-san, look out!" I heard Noto yell. It was too late, the ball slammed into her as she turned to face Noto. When she fell to the ground Kuroma-sensei ran over knelt down next to her. "Kihara-San, are you alright?" Another female student, Kashii Nanako, who was also Maya's friend, came to her aid. "Hang in there Maya-chan." Maya was able to stand on her own, even though she was a little tipsy. Minori looked at the girl. "I forgot that Kihara-san has a crush on Kitamura-kun." Oh, that made sense. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" "I was afraid Taiga would find out." She said. I nodded my head understandingly. I was all too familiar with Taiga's violent outbursts, if she found out in any way that another girl had a crush on her boyfriend…well, let's not go there.<p>

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><p>The palmtop tiger that bites anyone. I made it my mission that day to make sure that Taiga would never find out about Maya's crush on Kitamura. I thought to myself, 'my life has turned into a roller coaster because of those two'. Seriously, why did Kitamura and Taiga decide to keep their relation a secret? It would be much better for everyone, including me, if they would just announce their relationship to the others.<p>

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><p>2:00 P.M. It was now time and Taiga was going to bake cookies for Kitamura. Fortunately for her, I was randomly chosen to be her H.E. partner. I knew full well that Kitamura loved cookies as much he loved Taiga, but I also knew what kind of flavors he liked. Taiga was lucky for having me as a friend, if any sort of crack would appear in their relationship, I would always be there to mend it.<p>

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><p>**An hour later**<br>"Hey, do you remember what we talked about?" I asked Taiga. She nodded her head. "Yeah I got it; now get outta here before Yuusaku shows up." I nodded my head. "Sure thing, and remember the bottle." I was about to leave when Minori pulled me behind one of the large vents. "Kushieda? What are you doing here?" I whispered. "I just wanted to make sure all of our careful planning pays off." "Don't you think this going a bit too far? I mean, don't they deserve a little privacy?" Minori took a small glance out the side. "Not a chance, don't you remember when Taiga-chan and Kitamura-kun spied on us last year?" Now that she mentioned it. Yeah, I do remember, Minori and I were going out on a date before our last week of the school year. We just wanted to spend a little more time around each other before summer vacation started. But then we started noticing something odd, two people kept following us wherever we went, at first I scared, but we found out later that it was just Kitamura and Taiga. "I guess we should stick around."

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><p>**Half an hour later.**<br>"Everything worked out according to plan!" Minori said as we made our way out of the school. It was a good thing that we were dismissed early today. "And the Lemonade soda was a nice touch by the way." She as she gave me thumbs-up. "Well thank you, Taiga is really lucky to have me around as a friend isn't she." Minori nodded her head. "Yeah I guess I could call you the matchmaker of heaven then." A sweat drop rolled down the back of my head. How could say something like that when our relationship fell apart at the seams.

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><p>"Hhhmmm..." Minori and I were at the supermarket and I was having trouble deciding whether I should cook pork cutlets, or stir-fried vegetables. "Still can't decide?" I shook my head. "Well I might as well be on the receiving end of Taiga's kick." My phone rang. "Hello?" "Hey Ryuuji." "Aisaka?" Minori looked at me as Taiga said a few things to me. I nodded my head in understanding at Taiga was saying. "It's ok, I understand." I put my phone in my pocket. "What did Taiga say Ryuuji?" I smiled. "Kitamura's taking her out tonight." Minori smiled raised her fist in triumph. "Our plan worked better than expected!" She yelled, almost drawing the attention of the other shoppers. I looked at my watch and panicked when I saw what the time, it was almost 4 I had to meet with Ayame soon. I then broke into a run. "Sorry Kushieda, I have go I'm meeting with someone later, I'll see you tomorrow." I said as I bolted out of the store.<p>

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><p>"Am I early?" I asked myself as I walked into the shop. Ayame said that she wanted to meet up at Sudoh-Bucks coffee shop. However, I couldn't see her. I bought myself one coffee, black, and decided to take a seat on the bench by the window. "Hhhmmm…maybe she lost track of the time." I sat there for another ten minutes. I was beginning to get worried. I then felt a pair of hands cover my eyes. "Waiting for me Takasu-kun?" I jumped lightly at her touch. She then removed her hands and sat next to me. She was wearing a white, floral knee-length summer dress. "Oh Kiyoshi-san, I was wondering when you'd get here." She smiled and we started off talking about why she had to leave so early. When I met her last Monday she told me that she and her mom might be staying until next week. Unfortunately she had to leave because the company her mom worked for needed her. "What's your mom's position in the company anyway? It must be important since both of you have to leave early." She rested her hands on her chin. "Well she works in a photography studio and she's the general manager and photography consultant." I nodded my head. "So what came up?" "One of the photographers quit, and she was needed as a replacement. I'm not bragging for her or anything but, you should see my mom's photo spreads they're amazing." I took a sip of my coffee. "You must be proud of her. She sounds like a pretty hard worker." Ayame smiled. "She is, and I'm really lucky to her as my mom." Her smiled reminded me of myself when I would describe my mother and the things she does for me. At the end of the day, I walked her home and I met her mom. She was a really beautiful woman and she almost looked like my own mother, except that her hair was dark-blue. She had offered me to come in and have dinner with them but being a gentleman, I had to decline her offer; I had to take of my mom and Inko-chan after all. I was walking back to my house when three guys stepped out of the shadows. "Hey, aren't you Takasu Ryuuji?" One of the guys said. Oh crap, these guys obviously wanted to fight. "There's no denying it, you're the gentleman delinquent." The other guys said. "Yeah he's guy who only looks scary but can't put up a real fight." Good, they must've heard of the rumors from my school, and like all the rumors that came from Ohashi High, they were always completely wrong. It only took me a few minutes, but I was able to subdue my attackers. I tried to identify them and noticed they were members of a group of delinquents from a neighboring high school. I looked at myself and noticed that my clothes were really roughed up. I could also feel that there was a cut or a bruise on my face. Oh man, Yasuko is gonna grill me tonight. But when I got home, there was a note for me in the kitchen. "Sorry Ryuu-chan I can't join you for dinner tonight I had to go to work early to help out with a few problems." I was saved by her job, again. This kind of thing happened to me three times before and was glad that she had to leave early; it saved me from having to explain to her what happened to me earlier. I went to the bathroom to check my face; there was a small scrape with a surrounding bruise under my right eye. "Oh man, what kind of excuse can I make up for this?" I took some peroxide out the medicine cabinet and cleaned the wound; afterward I covered it with a square bandage. "I just hope this'll heal before Monday." I changed out of my clothes and cleaned them up as fast as I could; I didn't want Yasuko to find them in the condition they currently were.<p>

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><p>The next day I was on my way to Jonny's. Because of my previous relationship status with Minori, I was always doing part-time jobs on weekends. I guess after we broke up I still enjoyed cooking in a restaurant kitchen. I opened the restaurant's door and the bell chimed. I was met by a waitress who greeted me. "Good morning Takasu-kun." I was also greeted by the hostess. "Oh Good morning Kasumi." I waved back. "Hey Takasu, I heard you went on a date with the girl you met here yesterday." I jumped in surprise and shock. "How did you…?" She smiled almost devilishly. "I have my sources, like Kushieda-san." Kushieda? Did she spy on me? Oh man I hope she didn't get the wrong idea about what went on between me and Ayame. "Uh…n…nothing happened between us I swear!" I said putting my hands up. Kasumi smiled again. "It's okay I believe you, but I wonder if Kushieda-san will." I gulped down a lump that had formed in my throat. I made my way to the kitchen and got to work. Needless to say I was very jumpy for some reason. 'When did she find out?' 'I hope she's not mad.' 'What am I gonna say to her?' 'How do I explain myself?' These thoughts kept on running circles in my head for the whole day.<p>

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><p><strong>Now it's time to get down to brass tacks. Things are definitely going in the right track for this story, and since I'll be following the original story-line, each chapter will be an episode of Toradora but with a few changes here and there, a few will scenes will be changed, some won't, and I'll be adding a few extra scenes along the way depending on the need. The pairings, Besides Kitamura and Taiga, are still undecided at this point but I might bring Ayame Kiyoshi back in future chapters.<strong>

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><p><strong>This is THE TATTOO ARTIST signing out…<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

It was Monday, and I was walking to school with Taiga next to me. We were a few feet away from the gates when she let out a loud yawn. "I'm sleepy." She said in a tired voice. "Sheesh. Come to think of it didn't you leave your skirt in the laundry basket without taking the tissues out of the pocket?" I can't believe that I still had to remind this girl about what to do and what not to do when it came to personal hygiene, I thought that since she was a girl she'd know that by now. "It was a real hassle you know." She made a grumbling noise to show that didn't care. "Also, don't forget to separate colored ones; the darker ones should be in the orange basket…" "Ah, ah, just shut up!" She yelled as she put her hands to her head. "You're too detailed with every little thing! If you're a man you should just…" She was about burst out again when… "Give one shot to 'em! Yay, yay, yay, Give one shot to 'em!" It was Minori; she was singing the same song that she made up for her softball practice routine. "It looks like I'm up next." I was watching from the sides as Minori was going to bat next. "Fight, captain!" The other players shouted. "Oh well, Thank you for the cheers everyone.'  
>Kushieda. <em><br>_"Alrighty, Bring it on from wherever you want." She said as she held up the bat.  
>That refreshing smile.<br>The pitcher tossed the ball. And as expected of Minori, she hit a home-run. Everyone cheered as she ran across the bases.  
>Kushieda, she always looked an angel in whatever she was doing.<br>"I got to first base. Yay!" She started singing her victory song. "I got second base. Yay! Go around three bases and home run!"  
>Her singing voice that's out of tune.<br>"Home-in!" She said as she stepped on the home base plate.  
>Oh, Kushieda. This morning you were also…<br>My train of thought was immediately derailed when Taiga elbowed me in the gut. "OW! What was that for!?" Taiga crossed her arms and looked at me with deathly stare. "You and Minori broke up last year, if you stare at her like that; people will get the wrong impression between you two." I completely forgot about the school's problem with misunderstandings. After softball practice was over, Minori pulled me behind the sports shed. The look in her eyes told me everything I needed to know. I looked at her and let out a sigh. "Yeah, I was in a fight. Again." Minori crossed her arms and shook her head. "This is exactly why we broke up." I cringed in guilt after hearing that. "You just can't stay away from a fight can you?" "Hey I'm sorry but they caught me off guard." I lied. "I was just defending myself." Minori looked at me. "Well as long as it was in self-defense, I'll let you off for now."

**(Minori POV)  
><strong>Takasu-kun was lying, I could tell easily. *sigh* I was holding back the tears that threatened to fall from my eyes. He was fighting again, that, was the whole reason why we broke up. I just couldn't bear the thought of him going out and never coming back. I was always praying to whatever deity what was out there, to reassure myself that Takasu-kun would be safe. I knew that he was strong, strong enough to fight off an entire gang if he wanted to. But something, a small voice inside my head would always try to make me doubt him. I was heading back into the classroom when I was met by several students who handed me their phones.

/

"DecoDen huh? Minorin, you have pretty dexterous hands don't you?" I heard Taiga say. I was putting my books away when turned to see what she was taking about. "Heh, heh, of course. I may look this way but my hands are pretty dexterous." Minori was at it again, she decorating cell phones with glitter beads. "Alright! Here's one up!" Minori said as she held up the phone she was working on. "Alrighty, next up is…" She then pulled a box filled with phones. "Whoa! Looks you've got your hands busy, huh?" I said as I leaned back on my chair. "Yup, this busy girl has to keep herself busy." Minori said. "Kushieda. Can you do ours too?" Nanako and Maya walked up to Minori and handed her their phones. "Oh my! Looks like I got some orders." I stood up. "Then go ahead and write your name, the color you want and the image on this sheet." Just then three male students came into the room; they were all wearing black hoods and sunglasses. They all walked up to me. "Takasu Ryuuji, we need you to come with us." One of them said in deep voice. "Huh? Who are you guys?" I was about to pull down their hoods to see who they were when they each grabbed me, tied me up, and lifted my body into the air above their heads. "Please forgive us!" They shouted as they carried me out of the room. Everyone just gawked at the scene that had unfolded before them. "W…who were those guys?" Maya asked.

/

Up on the roof. "What the heck are you guys doing!?" I was demanding an answer from whoever these guys were. They put me down on the ground, but they didn't untie me. They pulled down their hoods. I sweat dropped at the sight of the three guys in front of me. Kitamura, Noto, and Haruta. What the heck were they doing and what could they possibly want from me? "Takasu." They all said with a serious tone in their voices. "We saw you." Noto said. "It was last Friday night too." Haruta added. "Why didn't you tell us about this?" Kitamura sounded worried. Oh crap, they know about the fight. It didn't help that my wound still hadn't healed and that it was covered by a bandage. "Uh…guys I…I can explain." I stammered nervously. "That's right start from the beginning." Noto said. "And don't lie to us." Haruta said as he crossed his arms. Kitamura put his hands on my shoulders. "Please, Takasu just tell us." I was feeling really guilty about what I did that night. "Why…what we're you doing with…?" Kitamura paused and I gulped. "Ayame Kiyoshi!?" They all shouted in unison. A massive sweat drop rolled down the back of my head. "You...guys." I said blankly. I shook my head and then explained to them what really happened. "So she's the one who asked you out then." "What? No it wasn't a date, I was just spending some time with her before she left for Tokyo. Now will you just untie me, for crying out loud?" They untied the ropes and I stood up. "Well, if it was nothing too serious, I guess we dragged you up here for almost no reason." Kitamura said. "Yeah we better go." Noto said. Haruta nodded. They were all walking to the door. But as Kitamura and Noto had made their way down the stairs, Haruta stopped me. "Hey Takasu, I want to say thank you." He sounded so different when he said that. I raised ay eyebrow. "For what?" "For Ayame, she's been my closest friend since we were kids, and I want to thank you for what you did for her." Ayame was Haruta's childhood friend? So that's how they knew each other. "W…why didn't you tell me this sooner?" I said. "I thought that if you knew it would be a little harder for you to say anything since you'd know that she's my friend." Again, that made sense. "Oh yeah, I guess that would've been a problem." "I'm actually indebted to you." Haruta said as he crossed his arms. I raised an eyebrow. "W…what for?" He stepped closer to me and put his arm on my shoulder. "I've never seen her smile like that before." "Huh?" "I saw her off last Saturday at the train station, when she smiled; it was different, very different from the fake ones she would often put on." Did I perform a miracle or something? It sounded like Ayame had changed completely. I started thinking about what did or had said to Ayame when were hanging out, but then something else crossed my mind. "Hey wait a minute," I started. "Why'd you introduce Ayame to me, couldn't you have taken her to see someone else?" Haruta smiled. "You're the only guy I know who can trust. That, and the fact that you and Ayame share the same 'father' issues." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Remember when you told me and Noto about your dad?" I nodded my head. "Yeah, I do." "Ayame also had the same experiences." I nodded my head understandably. "I just wish I can see her again someday." Haruta smiled. "You'll get your chance, Takasu."

/

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><p><strong>I still have no clue on how end these chapters properly. I need help and bad, otherwise the chapters will end up being mistaken for unfinished chapters. They're not by the way. Hhhmmm...maybe I could put some kind of...nah, that would never work.<br>****Oh and before I leave, I wanted to say one thing. "Never get drunk on sake in Japan during the new years." My parents may be okay with me drinking, but for some of you legal age drinkers out there, heed my warning. Otherwise you'll wake up with a henna tattoo on your a$$ that reads f***. True story.**

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><p><strong>Please leave me a review and thanks for reading, see you next update...<strong>

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><p><strong>This is THE TATTOO ARTIST signing out…<strong>


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